


Reapers of the Nether

by Gh0Stache



Category: Magic: The Gathering (Card Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Canon-Typical Violence, Drama & Romance, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Loss, Major Original Character(s), Minor Original Character(s), Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Universe, Past Relationship(s), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Redemption
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:41:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29950122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gh0Stache/pseuds/Gh0Stache
Summary: Kaori and Hanako are two bright students at Minamo Academy and friends for life. But when one oftheir “extracurricular” activities leads to the death of their teacher, an ember in their souls sparks andthe planeswalk away. Landing on an unknown plane and scared for their lives, they take in with an oldPlaneswalker named Byuna Shin.  But is Byuna really the benevolent man he appears to be?Jace Beleren has been in hiding, trying to escape the ghosts of his past. That reality is shattered whenRaven Jadeshadow, a bard with a quick tongue, enlists his help in stopping a new threat to theMultiverse: The Grand Reaper of Sapragar. Along the way they will meet Kaori, Hanako, and themysterious Byuna to assist them in their hunt. But as the clues come together, will the ragtag group ofPlaneswalker be able to thwart the Reaper’s onslaught, or will they too become another weave in thethreads of Fate?Reaper of the Nether will follow Jace and company through many tests and trials, where oldfriendships are tested and relationships are rekindled, leading to a final climatic realization that thelargest threat to the Multiverse is far from over.
Relationships: Chandra Nalaar/Raven (OC), Jace Beleren/Vraska
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

Moonlight streamed through the windows of the floating Minamo Academy, School at Waters’ Edge, creating pools of soft blue light on the smooth stone floors, and a light breeze kept the building comfortable on this fall evening, no weather magic required.Giving the school its namesake, the constant low roar of the Kamitaki Falls reverberated through the empty corridors.Several windows of the student dorms flickered with a dim candlelight as students crammed for upcoming exams, pouring over tomes of arcane spells or whispering incantations to ensure the rhythm was perfect, lest the student accidentally grow their tree a hundred feet tall instead of just one.There was one softly lit window where no studying was taking place.Kaori Natsuki and Hanako Yasuda, friends since childhood, waited for the moon to reach the correct position in the sky, blew out their candle, and silently exited their room to embark on their secret journey.

They crept through the empty halls, pausing at each intersection to make sure no patrolling professors would catch them.Their blue silk slippers cushioned their footfalls as they dashed along their planned route and ascended the West Tower stairs.With one last sprint, they snuck into the top classroom and quietly shut the door behind them.The young women stood still as statues against the door, waiting for any sign of noise on the stairs.Hearing nothing, they both let out their held breath and collapsed against the wall.

“We made it!” Kaori exclaimed, her chest heaving as she caught her breath.“I thought for sure the teachers would pounce on us the moment we left the dorm.”

“Have a little faith, Kaori,” said Hanako.“We practiced that for two weeks, no one was going to find us.”

Chuckling, they stood up.The room they had entered was large and circular with panoramic views of the outside.The moon offered enough light that Kaori could see the desks and chairs stacked neatly against the left side, exposing the well-worn dark wood floor covered in decades of scuff marks and scratched-in initials.Dozens of charts and posters covered boards that floated a few inches off the ground, each showcasing different positions of the stars.Behind those boards was another room close to the entrance, separated by a rough and weathered wooden door with “Storage” written on a faded placard.It was the perfect space for learning.

It was also the perfect space for what Kaori had planned tonight.Months of preparations, long nights studying the proper procedures, and practically begging on her hands and knees for Hanako’s help; all had led to this moment.She opened the small brown leather pouch hanging from her belt and removed a piece of chalk.She began drawing three concentric circles across the floor, two large and one smaller in the center.Then she filled the space of the second circle with a square, and straight lines from each corner to the smaller ring in the center.This she filled with a large kanji, hoping her memory of the tome she found it in was accurate enough for the spell to work.Happy with the basic structure of the summoning circle, she started to inscribe runes along the outer ring.

Meanwhile, Hanako opened her own pouch and pulled out a dozen small vials, each with a specific spell-casting reagent.She added a miniature mortar and pestle to her pile and closed her pouch.She waved her hand over the materials and whispered an incantation.The vials and tools began to grow in size, until the vials were medium in size and the mortar could be used to make enough bread for an entire class.She poured the contents of each vial, now jars, into the mortar and slowly started grinding them together. 

“Almost set Hanako-chan,” Kaori said, wiping a bead of sweat from the tip of her nose.“Everything good there?”

“Oh I’m great,” Hanako said through grunts.“Nothing I like doing more than pulverizing dried Yukai gold beetle and blight kelp at nearly one in the morning.”

“Aww, Hanako-chan!You said you would be happy to help me with this.”

“With the summoning.Not the preparation.”

“All good spells take preparation, and this is no exception.”Kaori scrunched her face and attempted her best Professor Tetsuo impression, “Remember ladies, you and the spell are one, treat it with respect and the spell will return in kind.” 

The girls broke out into another fit of laughter. 

“Oh!” Exclaimed Kaori.“I just remembered.You did set the ward at the bottom of the stairs, right?”

Hanako waved her left hand at Kaori without looking up from her work, a small silver ring on her pinky.“Uh huh.This will glow bright blue if anyone starts to come up.”

Smiling, Kaori watched her friend grind the pestle into the soft _crunch crunch_ of the mortar.They had known each other for what felt like a lifetime, ever since Hanako stood up to those bullies.It didn’t matter that Kaori was the daughter of Lord Hachemon Natsuki, or that Hanako was the daughter of farmers.They didn’t care that nobility and peasants shouldn’t mingle, let alone play together.But that’s exactly what they did.Even when Kaori was kept at the manor with practically zero time to herself, she would still sneak out on some nights to enjoy a home cooked meal with Hanako and her parents.But then that day—

“Ready over here!”

Kaori snapped out of her memory and saw her friend grinning, tipping the mortar over to reveal what looked like a rainbow of sand.With an excited squeak, Kaori drew the last rune into the floor and hurried over to Hanako.They carefully poured the powder inside the ring of the larger summoning circle, taking care to ensure that each rune was covered with each color.Once done, they returned to sit in front of the ritual and laid both hands across the runes.

“This is it!Are you ready to meet a Kami?”Kaori asked breathlessly.Hanako gave her friend a mischievous grin in response.

They closed their eyes and began to recite the incantation they had committed to heart over the past month and a half.Slowly the circle started to glow, a dull red that grew in intensity as the spell was channeled.The powdered reagents in the summoning circle started to slide to the center and float upwards, coalescing into a fluid mass that danced like waves in a pool.The color started to solidify into an ocean blue, and sounds of flowing water emanated from the swirling mass.A face, hollow and empty like a porcelain mask, began to take shape in the rippling form.Droplets formed a liquid goatee on the face, and shapes of jumping fish burst forth from the floating pool, splashing down to be absorbed back into the water.

They both watched in breathless wonder as the Kami took in its surroundings with a quiet contemplation.There were no eyes in the face, but Kaori could _sense_ the gaze as it lingered on the pair of girls still kneeling at the circle, and then swept the rest of the room. 

“I can’t believe it actually worked,” whispered Hanako, her eyes never leaving the spirit.“No Kami has been summoned since Kyodai by Konda the Betrayer, but we actually did it.”

“And better yet, we aren’t binding it.Just politely asked it here!”Kaori could barely contain her elation, but knew she needed to keep her emotions in check lest the circle become unstable.Every student at Minamo Academy was taught the legend of Lord Konda and the binding of Kyodai, That Which Was Taken, and the Kami War that resulted of it.Over 1000 years later, no one had dared summon a Kami to the mortal realm for fear of another war breaking out.But Kaori was persistent in her curiosity, and spent the whole last year studying and perfecting a way to summon without binding or trapping the Kami in their realm.The barrier they erected was for their protection only. 

The mask suddenly whipped around to face Kaori, and a throaty, muffled voice entered her head that sounded like someone speaking underwater.

_WHY HAVE I BEEN SUMMONED._

It wasn’t a question, more of an accusation.Kaori heard Hanako take in a sharp breath and guessed the Kami had spoken to both of them.She swallowed hard.

“Oh great Kami, we have asked you here to share your wisdom with us.Please, grant us knowledge and we will depart.”Why did she have to sound so stuffy?She really should have practiced talking to a Kami in front of a mirror or something. 

_WHAT OFFERING DO YOU BRING, CHILDERN OF THE FLESH?_

An offering?Kaori snuck a glance at Hanako, who simply shrugged.Since the Kami War and the repression of all things related to summoning, ancient customs and practices were nothing more than forgotten myths and legends. _Perfect_ , she thought, _we’re just going to wing it._

“Oh great Kami, we have no offering, but only because the old ways have been lost, and we did not know what to offer.If you can grant us the wisdom, we will surely provide a suitable offering for you the next time we—“

_I BEAR NO GIFTS, CHILD._

“Well, what can we offer you?” asked Hanako.

Laughter erupted in her head, loud and screeching, seemingly pushing against her skull trying to escape.She nearly doubled over with the crushing pain, but was barely able to maintain her focus on the circle.She could see Hanako breathing heavily, eyes screwed shut.She must be enduring the same torture.Through the pain, panic was setting in.The circle was supposed to protect them from a Kami and their energies.How was it doing this?

Kaori looked at the floating spirit above them, and watched in horror as the face changed.The smooth ivory became rotting flesh stretched taught over bones.Lips formed, pulling back to reveal clenched teeth stained with decay.Matted hair sprang from the skull and slowly waved in a breeze Kaori couldn’t feel.It was the face of a corpse, and the sudden revolt of her stomach threatened to break her concentration.The mental assault was becoming too great to bear, and tears began to stream down her face.When they reached her mouth she instinctively licked them away, only to spit out the coppery tasting blood, splattering the circle.In an instant the pain stopped and the noise ceased in her head, except for the low, far away laughter of the spirit.

_I ACCEPT THE OFFERING,_ the voice said, low and rumbling with a mocking tone.

Kaori felt her body tense up and her insides chill.Blood?None of the texts she read never once mentioned that a Kami would want blood as an offering.

_Oh no._

“You’re not a Kami, are you?”

_CLEVER GIRL._ _YOU KNOCKED, I ANSWERED._

“You’re an Oni, a demon spirit!” Kaori yelled, phantom pain in her head still causing her to wince.“You are not meant to be here!”

_BUT HERE I AM, CHILD._

Kaori was heaving great sighs of air, trying to force the contents of her stomach to stay down.Hanako was not so lucky and turned her face away from the Oni so as to avoid hitting the spirit.Kaori saw her face was stained with streaks of blood from her eyes, and the circle in front of her was littered with droplets as well.

“We come seeking wisdom,” Kaori said, stumbling through her irregular breathing.“We want to learn more arcane magic to take back to our village, to make it stronger.”

_THERE IS A WAY._

“What is that?”

Kaori’s head was suddenly filled with images, twisting and churning with terror.Scenes of men, women, and children all prostrate before an effigy of an Oni, with wiry limbs stretching out like points on a star, encircled with bones.Another scene of men ransacking a village, shooting fire from their hands while they chanted in a strange language.Another scene of countless people walking in formation along a road, all with the same lifeless expression and lifeless eyes.All chanting.

“No!” screamed Kaori.“No, that’s not what I want!”

The Oni simply laughed in their heads again, their brains rattling at the onslaught, and the spirit began to spin.Faster and faster, becoming a blur of motion until it began to collapse in on itself like a whirlpool.With a small _pop,_ the Oni vanished, leaving no trace behind and only a still, deathly quiet, like the air itself was afraid to move. 

Kaori and Hanako could do nothing but stare at the empty space.Short ragged breaths entered into Kaori’s lungs, and her efforts to tame her stomach finally failed, emptying the contents all across the chalk kanji.Hanako was doubled over andclutching her stomach in pain, slowly rocking back while quietly moaning.It took several agonizing minutes for the pain to subside enough to allow talking.

“Well,” croaked Hanako, “that certainly didn’t go at all like we planned.”

“You’re insight is as invaluable as ever,” Kaori said, giving up on sitting and flopped backwards on the cool floor.“I wonder why an Oni came.The spell was designed for Kami wasn’t it?”

Hanako shrugged, “That’s what the book said, but who knows?”

“But we did summon _something_!Whether or not the spell’s intended target was true, the intention and mechanics actually worked!”Kaori was getting her energy back, and the realization that they had, in fact, succeeded in bringing a being over from the Spirit Realm was a feat no other wizard had dared attempt in over a thousand years!

“Um, Kaori?”

She turned her head to see her friend’s face frozen in fear, staring at her ring.Her glowing blue ring.

“We have a problem.”


	2. Chapter 2

Kaori and Hanako shared one second of silent panic, and then sprang into action.Kaori whipped out a towel from under her robes, made it damp with a bit of magic and started to furiously scrub the chalk drawings off the floor.Hanako was haphazardly throwing all of her tools and vials back into her pouch, chanting the shrinking incantation like her life depended on it.Once the pouch was secure at her waist, she also pulled out a towel, made it damp, and started helping her friend.It had taken them just under three minutes to get from the bottom of the tower to the door of the classroom, so with each passing second the newcomer would be getting closer and closer to finding two wayward students engaged in the most illegal of magics.Kaori didn’t want to think of what would happen to them if caught, but being expelled seemed the worst possible punishment.Her parents would never forgive her.

Hanako wiped away the last trace of a rune, and the girls took a step back to survey the floor.Unless someone used a deep scrying spell, no one would ever know that two young mages had summoned an Oni to this room only moments ago.Even the blood drops were barely noticeable.Nodding to each other, they quickly cleaned their faces and ran to one of the windows, primed to jump from the tower and use the flight spell they had also been practicing in secret to aid in their escape.But once Hanako reached the window, ready to throw it open and leap, she stiffened, her eyes locked on something above them.

“There’s a Moonfolk coming down from Oboro,” Hanako whispered to her friend as she tip-toed away from the window.

“What?!” Kaori ran over and looked out the window, the sight that greeted her sending her heart crashing to the floor.

Descending quickly was a semi-opaque cloud, shifting and gyrating in form and structure, and coming straight for the top of the tower.Kaori could see the faint silhouette of a Moonfolk on top of the cloud, and she knew that the plan of jumping was now dead. 

Hanako turned to face her friend, and even in the pale moonlight Kaori could see the color drained from her face.“ _Chikushō!_ What are we going to do?”

Kaori scanned the room looking for anything that could serve as cover.There wasn’t enough space to hide under the stacked desks, and the floating boards meant that, as stealthy as they could be, visible feet would more than likely give them away.There was only one option, and Kaori rushed over to it.Wrenching the “Storage” door open, she discovered a supply closet filled with books, rolls of parchment, quills, and all manner of spell materials.There was just enough space inside for two people to hide.She hoped.

“Hanako, in here!” Kaori whispered as loudly as she dared, motioning for her friend to come over.They bundled into the closet and closed the door behind them as softly as they could, just as the entrance door opened.Kaori and Hanako held their breath as footsteps sounded on the wood floors, fearful that the slightest noise would give them away.It was pitch black in the closet, but Kaori could feel her friend shaking against her.Or was it her?All they could do was sit and wait, and hope that whatever was taking place outside would happen sooner rather than later.

The newcomer paced back and forth for another minute before they heard the creak of the window opening and a soft _whoosh_ of air that announced the Moonfolk’s arrival.

“You’re late.”It was a man’s voice, low and gravelly.That must have been the person coming up the stairs, Moonfolk didn’t sound like that. 

“Oh?I was under the impression that human customs allowed one to be a few minutes behind schedule.‘Fashionably late’ I believe is the term.”The Moonfolk’s voice was light and airy, almost singsong.It gave the impression of superiority without ever having to assert their dominance.

“Never been late before, Chihoyo.”The voice sounded faintly familiar to Kaori.She wasn’t sure if the gruffness in his tone was natural or not.Ever so carefully, she leaned to the door, trying to peer through the gap at the doorframe.She could make out the person well enough, dressed in green robes with a gold trim, hood raised to obscure the face.She thought she could see the scruffy strands of a beard poking out from the darkness.Opposite him, the Moonfolk sat on a throne of clouds floating in the middle of the floor.

“There is always a first time for everything,” Chihoyo responded, giving a wave of his hand.“Oboro is a place of many happenings for the _Soratami_.We are not always at the beck and call of mortals.Even for a Sibling such as you, Tetsuo.”

Tetsuo?Kaori stifled a gasp, _Professor Tetsuo?!_ What was he doing up here with one of the Moonfolk?And why had the Moonfolk called him “Sibling”?

Tetsuo grunted and reached into his robes, pulling out a small parcel wrapped in parchment.Chihoyo floated closer. 

“I take it you were successful then?” the Moonfolk asked.

“Took me longer than I would like to admit, but yes.A sliver of the stone disc of That Which Was Taken.”As he unwrapped the package, both Kaori and Hanako (now also peering through the gap) felt their breath catch.All Kamigawans knew the tale of Lord Konda and That Which Was Taken, the blasphemous ritual that had stolen a child of O-Kagachi, the Great World Serpent, from the Spirit Realm and trapped it inside a stone disc.It allowed Konda to live forever, but it also started the Kami War that ravaged the world for 20 years.Only the Sisters of Flesh and Spirit managed to end the war, and to this day they remained guardians of the world.At least, that’s what the legends said, and many bedtime stories told naughty children to behave or else the spirit of Konda would kidnap them, take them to the Spirit Realm, and trap them in their own stone disc.

Though the myth was well known, Kaori never suspected that remnants of the war would still be around.She leaned closer, trying to see and hear as much as she possibly could.

“Ah, marvelous,” Chihoyo said, a thin smile forming on his lips as he gazed at the artifact.“I must admit, I was skeptical if it could be found, but orders are orders, and no effort would be spared in its search.”

“And no expense either, right?” Tetsuo asked, his roughness accenting the question.“I lost several good research assistants on this expedition, and Church or no Church, they didn’t deserve to die like they did.”

“Their sacrifices will be honored, Tetsuo.The glory of the Church is boundless and— ah, but I see we have guests.”

Leaning too far, coupled with Hanako trying to get a better spot, meant that Kaori tipped forward into the door, spilling out onto the floor of the room in a tangled mess with her best friend.Kaori kept her face down on the wood, silently cursing everything the world had ever created since the beginning of creating things, and slowly raised her head to face her judgment.

“Professor, honorable _Soratami,_ um, good evening!We were just, uh, up here practicing for our upcoming exams—“

“In the closet?”Chihoyo asked, a bemused look on his face.

“Ah, well, not exactly.I mean, tell him, Hanako.”

Her soon-to-be-former best friend shot her a look that would have wilted the Jukai Forest.“Yes, well, you see sir, we were just—“

“How much did you hear, my children?”The Moonfolk spoke pleasantly, lounging back in his cloud chair. 

Kaori’s mouth tried to work, but no words came out.Her brain furiously tried to determine whether to fess up and tell the truth, or to continue the lies and hope for the best.She went with the latter.

“Um, nothing really.We only just noticed that the room wasn’t empty, and we went to check at the door, but we were clumsy and fell through.”She put on a sheepish grin, hoping that would dissuade both her teacher and the Moonfolk from further inquisition.Hanako was bobbing her head up and down in fervent agreement. 

“Ah, I understand.Did you see anything?”

“No, didn’t see anything. Nothing before we fell through.Right, Hanako?”

“Yep, nothing.”Now she bore a sheepish grin. _If this works_ , thought Kaori, _perhaps I should take up acting instead of magic study._

“So you seemed to think it would be wise to practice magic in the middle of the night?”

“. . . Yes.”

“And how was your study session?”

“It was . . . productive, to say the least.I’m sure that we’ll be ready to ace our tests, no sweat.”

Chihoyo of the _Soratami_ regarded the two girls, then smiled warmly.“Well, I wouldn’t be one to hinder the study and progress of young mages.I’ll overlook this transgression on the condition that you do, indeed, ace your tests.Is that fair to you, Professor Tetsuo?” 

Tetsuo, who had remained eerily silent for the whole exchange, simply gave a curt nod of his head.“Tomorrow morning,” he said gruffly, “I expect you two in my office for extracurricular study materials.”The implication was clear. 

“Thank you sir, and thank you honorable _Soratami_.”Kaori and Hanako both said in unison, and bowed in tandem as well.They rose and approached the exit door, Hanako opening their gateway to salvation when Kaori turned to say goodbye again.“Have a nice night!Good luck with your Church stuff!”

Hanako hissed as Kaori realized too late what her cheery disposition had just let slip.The door wrenched free of its own accord from Hanako’s hand and slammed shut.Tetsuo softly moaned under his hood while Chihoyo’s smile grew wider.

“Well, that is a shame my children.I had thought to let your lies stand, occasionally visiting you to reinforce the fear of telling the truth of what you saw and heard, but I’m afraid I cannot trust either of you it seems.What a pity.”

“My August Questor, is this really necessary?” Tetsuo spoke, not in his gruff voice but his normal one, with more than a hint of terror behind his words.Kaori felt the hairs rise on the back of her neck, and realized that expulsion might well indeed be the least of their worries tonight.

“Dear Tetsuo, High Questor of Kamigawa, surely you know the laws of our sect?Those not initiated who learn of our existence must be eliminated, swiftly and without hesitation.”

“But sir, they’re just—“

“Children?Of course they are.Children who would run their mouths to whomever they feel they could ‘trust’ and then those would do the same, until not long from now every lord of the land would be at our doorstep wanting power they don’t understand.No, even children can be the downfall of empires.Just take that piece of stone you hold.Was it not Konda’s daughter along with the spirt that was bound who ended the war?” Tetsuo was silent.Kaori frantically looked between her professor and the _Soratami_.“Sirs, I’m not sure I follow what’s going on, but—“

“You two are to die tonight.I’m sure you would have been such fine mages, but such is the way of things.Tetsuo, if you please.”

The professor slowly walked to the pair of girls, still hooded to hide his features.Tears were streaming down Kaori’s face now, the crushing reality sinking in.She was going to die, her friend was going to die, and it was all her fault.Their teacher stopped a step away from the cowering girls, towering over them.Slowly, Tetsuo withdrew a silver dagger from beneath his robes.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice shaking.The dagger came down in a flash. 

Kaori cried out, her shriek coming from deep within and hitting a pitch she didn’t know she could.There was a sharp _clank,_ and Tetsuo found himself suddenly face-to-face with Hanako.There was a flash of confusion on his face, before Hanako’s fist connected with his chin.The blow sent him crashing backwards into the Moonfolk, his cloud throne dissipating in a puff.Kaori found herself staring at Hanako with her mouth open, her best friend taking on a defensive stance with fists raised.Her metal-coated fists.

“I’m not planning on dying today, Sir.”She said through clenched teeth.“Now why don’t you come at us with something other than that letter opener.”

Kaori, still in shock from the near dagger to the neck, was surprised to see her friend stand so defiantly.Had she always been like this?There was grit and fire in her eyes.It stirred Kaori back to a small semblance of control, able to stand up on her own two feet.Her wobbling legs were a separate story, but she was standing with her friend. 

The _Soratami_ grunted as he shoved off the unconscious Tetsuo from him.He rose up to his full height, his presence seeming to fill the room.He started to levitate a few inches off the ground, and his eyes glowed blue with power. 

“You are making a grave mistake, girl.I had deigned to show mercy with a quick death, but you have tried my patience now.”Clouds developed from thin air and swirled around him, the wind threatening to blow over everything in the room.Kaori was scared, more scared than she had ever been, but instinct took over.Her hands moved, seemingly on their own, and she began to call mana to herself, trying to wrest control of the clouds from Chihoyo.The _Soratami_ gasped in surprise as he suddenly had to fight back to keep his magic formed, but quickly began to overpower Kaori’s feeble attempts.However, it was long enough for Hanako to launch herself at Chihoyo, jumping over a slice of wind that sheared the wood from the floor and aimed a punch straight at his face.It was deflected within a hair’s width from his cheekbones, but Hanako pivoted on her feet and aimed a low kick an instant after the parried punch.Her leg connected, and Chihoyo stumbled to the ground. 

Kaori used the moment to take the clouds for herself, wrapping them around the Chihoyo in a swirling mass that lifted him from the ground.She tied off the mana strings to her spell, just like Professor Tetsuo had taught her to do last year in one of her first classes at Minamo.Chihoyo was trapped in the air currents, unable to move.Hanako backed off, keeping a wary eye on him, while Kaori dashed over to Professor Tetsuo to check on the still unconscious man.

“Professor, are you alr—“ Kaori began, only to be cut short as she barely dodged a blade strike from Tetsuo.She stumbled backward as Tetsuo leapt to his feet and dashed toward his young pupil.Kaori screamed again, and sent out a blast of air, throwing her professor back into the stacked desks at the far end of the room, causing them to come crashing down. 

“Kaori!” Hanako yelled, but was cut off as a tendril of cloud narrowly missed severing her head from her neck.Chihoyo had undone the mana strings and regained his composure, now stalking forward toward Hanako and sending strike after strike.Hanako was avoiding them all, but was rapidly losing ground to the Moonfolk.One missile of cloud was dodged at an odd angle, causing Hanako to lose a step in her footing, and Chihoyo dove at the opportunity.

“No!”Kaori summoned all of her magic stores and created a solid wall of air, sending it hurtling at Chihoyo.The magic struck the Moonfolk square in the side, sending him crashing through one of the windows and hurtling down toward the ground. 

For a second, there was no sound except for the blood pounding in Kaori’s ears.Then a wet cough snapped her head back to where the desks lay in a toppled heap.Tetsuo was breathing hard, and his breaths came in ragged gasps.She ran over to him, only to slow to a walk and then finally sank to her knees next to her professor.Two legs from a desk that were missing their feet protruded from Tetsuo’s chest.Blood stained his robes and trickled from his mouth as he coughed up more onto the floor.Her mind completely blank, she reached out a hand to touch his arm, the dagger he once held out of reach of his fingers.He looked into her eyes, pain and fear present, but also relief.He opened his mouth, struggling to speak through the blood rushing into his lungs.

“I’m . . . I’m sorry . . . please forgi—“ His mouth slacked and his head rolled down, his last words hanging in the air. 

Kaori couldn’t hear anything.The world around her might as well have ended, she wouldn’t have noticed.It was her first time seeing a dead body, and it was also the first time she had murdered anyone.It was _her_ blast of wind that sent him flying into the desks.She had caused this, she had _killed_ him!

“Kaori,” Hanako said, breath labored and shaking her friend’s shoulder, “c’mon, we need to leave.”

“I killed him.”

“He was trying to kill you, it was in self defense.”

“I killed Professor Tetsuo.I kill—,” the words caught in her throat, and she leaned over to vomit on the floor.

“We can worry about all of this later, we need to go before that Moonfolk shows back up.”

“Oh, I don’t think you’ll have to wait long.”

Hanako pivoted at the sound of the airy voice.Chihoyo floated there in the center of the room, his lazy smile affixed on his lips.Kaori coughed up more bile as she tried to speak again, “I killed him.I killed him, I killed him, I killed him.”

“Yes, you did, child.He was a promising member of our organization.Would have gone far too.And now you will both pay for that too with your lives.”Chihoyo dashed forward, Hanako too slow to raise her arms up in defense.

“ _I KILLED HIM!!”_

Kaori’s scream echoed through the room, and made it reverberate.She felt a surge of energy through her body, like every muscle was clenching all at the same time.Suddenly, she was moving.Not of her own accord, she was flying through, something.It was darkness, and wasn’t dark.It was light, and wasn’t.And it stretched for eternity, this she somehow knew.It felt like her entire body was being pulled without any kind of direction or conscious action.She tried to scream again, but no sound came from her mouth.It was a moment that lasted a second, and a hundred years.

Without warning, she crashed down onto something soft.Fumbling to get to her knees, she frantically looked around for Hanako, only to find she was no longer in the tower.The softness under her was green grass, and a light breeze blew, rustling her hair around her head as she looked around to gather herself.Where was her friend?For that matter, where was she?

The limbs of a great tree creaked in the wind behind her, and Kaori found she was at the base of it, its vast gnarled trunk stretching into the sky with spidery limbs branching off in grotesque shapes.If Kaori’s stomach wasn’t already empty, she would have been doubled over from the sight that greeted her.A dozen or so corpses hung from the limbs, their decaying bodies swaying the wind, with many more open nooses occupying other branches.Lifeless eyes of the corpses all seemed to stare at her, and stricken with fear she somehow knew they _were_ looking at her.All in unison, silently judging her for the heinous act she just committed.

Kaori tried to scream, but found she lost her voice as she traveled again.It was a journey of tumbling and careening in the darkness where any direction was every direction.It felt like she was spilling end over end with no sense of where she was going only to—

Be slammed into a white floor.The sun was shining and the warmth was a welcome feeling.There was no breeze this time, only the soft chirping of birds residing in tall thin trees placed in-between columns of some kind.These columns looked to be made of white marble, and were all joined at the top by a marble ring, all glistening in the sunlight. 

Kaori tried to catch her bearings and attempted to sit up and look around, only to be sent back to the ground with a painful wave of dizziness and nausea.She screwed her eyes shut to stop the world from moving.After a minute of careful breathing, she opened her eyes and noticed the shadow of someone standing behind her.Suddenly elated that Hanako had found her, she pushed herself off the ground into a crouching position and turned around, ready to run to her friend and be comforted.

However, she was rooted to the spot.It was not Hanako, but a statue of a man, as tall as the columns and more intricately carved. There wasn’t an inch of it that wasn’t chilled perfection, even down to each strand of his shoulder-length hair.Everything from his blank stoic eyes to the plate boots he wore looked polished and beautiful.One hand was held over his heart and the other upright in the air, like he was taking an oath of some kind.Kaori still had no idea where she was or where her friend was, but felt a sort of calm come over her, like she was being watched over by someone who could protect her.

The feeling would not last, as she was transported once again.Gone in an instant, gone for an age.Twisting and flailing, reaching to nothing and grabbing onto everything.Kaori couldn’t wrap her head around any of it, and yet it felt like she was at home within herself.And then—

Kaori was falling through a copse of trees, bouncing off branches and being scratched by thorny leaves.She hit the forest floor hard, but the deep moss covering the ground cushioned the blow somewhat, so her head only bounced on the ground instead of smashing into it.Every inch of her ached through to her bones, and it took monumental effort to simply roll over onto her back.She stared at her path of destruction through the trees, snapped limbs hanging by threads of bark and dried leaves continuing to shower her. 

The horror of what she witnessed in the West Tower at Minamo was still fresh in her mind, but she was too exhausted to express any emotion.Everything was so vivid, the flash of the blade, Hanako’s martial arts against the Moonfolk, Tetsuo’s lifeless eyes staring at a room he would never see again.She closed her own eyes and laid an arm across her face.How was she going to explain any of this?How could she go back to school now?She knew she would have to answer for her crimes, she was raised to do the right thing, but she was also still trying to find a way to make this all go away.She didn’t want to think about the fact she murdered someone.She didn’t want to accept the _Soratami_ sending swarms of agents to locate her.But above all else, she didn’t think she could look Hanako in the face.She asked her, _pressured_ her to be a part of this, and look what she did.Her best friend had to defend her, putting herself into peril all for their friendship.Kaori felt like death, both of body and mind.She wanted to apologize, but until she could find her, it was nothing more than a longing for forgiveness.

“LOOK OUT!”Hanako shouted from above, and Kaori looked up just in time to see her friend barreling through the trees.She didn’t have enough time to roll out of the way, and even if she did her body protested even her eyes blinking.Hanako slammed into her, taking the full force of her friend’s fall and got the wind knocked from her lungs and what felt like broken ribs.Both girls moaned and grunted in pain, Kaori struggling to suck air back in.She felt Hanako try to raise up, then slump forward, passed out.Kaori could feel her own mind starting to fade away as she reached her breaking point, and her eyelids closed as the pain and exhaustion became too great to bear. 

Then, a voice sounded from above them. 

“Well now, that was quite a fall wasn’t it?”

_Oh, now what,_ thought Kaori and was able to crack open one eye to see the figure of a man standing over both of them.Her vision was still blurry, but she thought she could make out some kind of tall hat on his head.And maybe a smile, was this person smiling?

“Hey, you two, alright down there?”

Kaori thought she heard concern in the voice, but her own consciousness was nearly expired.Kaori knew this might be their only chance for help.It might also be an agent of the _Soratami_ here to do them in for their transgressions, but if it meant survival for herself and Hanako, she had to take the risk.

“Please . . . help . . . “ Kaori managed to croak before the exhaustion won and the world around her went black.


End file.
